The present invention relates to an electronic mail display method for causing a chat system and an electronic mail center to link with each other to present a received electronic mail during a chat. The invention further provides an information communication system, an electronic mail center, a chat server and a recording medium for performing the method.
Electronic mail provides a means for information communication structured as follows: An electronic mail center comprising a host computer has storage regions called mail boxes and provided to correspond to a number of receivers. The electronic mail center receives document information whose receiver is appointed from a terminal unit connected to a public telephone network through the same. In the electronic mail center, the received document information is written to a mail box corresponding to the appointed receiver. Then, the receiver reads the document information from the mail box into the receiver's terminal unit.
The receiver of the electronic mail is able to receive the electronic mail at a time convenient for the receiver. Therefore, the receiver is provided with convenience because the work being conducted by the receiver is not interrupted by the received (supplied) electronic mail, as would be the case by a call on the telephone. A sender is able to easily use the electronic mail without considering the time at which the mail is received, because thus the mail does not interrupt the receiver.
A chat system is, on the other hand, known as a means for communicating information. The chat system has a chat server which is a host computer and a plurality of terminal units connected to the same through the public telephone line. A message received by the chat server from a terminal unit is immediately transmitted to another terminal unit so that a chat between operators of the terminal units is realized by using characters.
In the chat system, on the terminal units, a content of a statement is displayed in correspondence with the name of a person who made the statement. Therefore, even if a plurality of statements are made simultaneously, confusion as to the person who made a given statement can be prevented. Moreover, the contents of the statements can reliably be communicated to other operators. Consequently, exchange of opinions is performed smoothly. Since the contents of the statements displayed on the terminal unit can be stored in the form of text data, minutes of proceedings can easily be made on the basis of the text data.
Therefore, such a chat system is suitable to allow participants to give their opinions to each other to decide their policy. However, a problem, similar to that experienced with the telephone system, arises in that the participants encounter time constraints. In a case where the contents to be communicated are brought to a conclusion, electronic mail is sometimes a more suitable method.
Accordingly, the two methods are selectively employed. That is, electronic mail is employed in a usual information exchange, and the chat system is employed when a simple communication is performed or policy is decided.
It also follows that the contents of electronic mail received previously are frequently a subject of the chat. In a case where the participants of the chat, other than the person who presented the contents of the chat, have no idea of the contents, smooth communication of opinions is difficult.